Chicken and Roasted Vegetable Pot Pie

I don't know that there could be a better winter warm up meal than this one. This is real stick to your ribs comfort food. My kids in particular love this meal.

This recipe started out long ago as leftovers from a roast chicken dinner. Rather than make a roast chicken stew, I like to prepare and keep all the elements of the filling, the chicken, the roasted vegetables and the gravy, separate until the pie is ready to be constructed. This keeps all the components intact within the crust without blending together into an unidentifiable mush.

Makes one large 10 inch pie or 6 individual pies. You may need additional pastry if making individual sized pies.

Start by making your pastry
1 cup very cold butter cut into small cubes
2 ½ cups flour
½ tsp salt
1/3 – ½ cup ice water (Only enough to make a dough form.)

Using a food processor or a pastry blender cut cold butter into flour and salt until mixture resembles a coarse meal. Small pieces of butter should still be visible. Pour cold water over the mixture and work in by tossing with a fork until dough begins to form. Use your hands as little as possible and work the dough as little as possible. Divide dough into 2 balls, flatten into 2 rounds, wrap in plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator to rest for a minimum of 20 minutes.
You can make your dough the previous day but make sure you take it out of the fridge for 10 minutes to warm slightly before rolling out.
Roll the dough into a 12 inch round and place in the bottom of a 10 inch pie plate. Don’t trim the dough at this point. It is better to trim the excess after blind baking it. You will need to blind bake this bottom crust before adding the filling. Blind baking is essential so that the bottom crust will not get soggy. To blind bake a crust, simply place a piece of parchment paper or aluminum foil over the dough and cover the bottom of the pie plate with baking weights. (Dry beans, peas, rice or barley work just as well as anything else.) Bake at 400 degrees F for about 12 -15 minutes. Remove baking weights and parchment (or foil).

Filling
2 - 3 large carrots sliced
2 – 3 large parsnips sliced
2 stalks celery sliced
1 cup button mushrooms (optional)
4 cloves garlic (UNPEELED)
4 tbsp olive oil
Salt and pepper to season

Toss together in a shallow baking pan to coat the vegetables in olive oil. Roast vegetables uncovered at 375 degrees for 35-40 minutes. Remove garlic from the skins and mash the roasted cloves into a paste with a fork. Reserve this paste to add to the gravy.

Gravy
Bring 4 cups chicken stock to a boil. Continue boiling for about 30 minutes or until the volume is reduced by about half. Add:
1/2 tsp ground sage
2 tbsp dried summer savoury
Roasted garlic paste (reserved from roasting the vegetable)
Salt and pepper to taste
Quickly whisk in:

3 tbsp flour shaken into ½ cup cold water (for thickening the gravy)
Cook, stirring constantly for an additional minute. Combine with the roasted vegetables and

1 ½ pounds precooked roasted chicken (cubed)

Spoon the filling into the blind baked pie shell, top with the seconravyd round of pastry, tucking the edges under the bottom crust. Brush the top crust with an egg wash of
1 egg and 2 tbsp water whisked together.Bake the pie at 425 degrees for about 45 minutes or until the top crust is a deep golden brown. Allow pie to stand for 20 minutes to a half hour before cutting and serving. Serve with English Style Roast Potatoes with Roasted Garlic.